Mr. Zhou Xiangyang on Hunger Strike for Over a Year

As of July 22nd, 2009, it had been one year and 18 days since Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhou Xiangyang started a hunger strike at the Gangbei Prison in June 2008. In April and May 2009, he was rushed to the Tianjin Women's Prison Xinsheng Hospital to receive emergency treatment. However, he was sent back to the Gangbei Prison on June 2nd. Because he was in critical condition, his family requested that he be released on bail for medical treatment. The prison officials agreed, however the prison stipulated that the family transfer Mr. Zhou's registered permanent address from Tianjin City to an address that was under the 610 Office's¹ jurisdiction. Mr. Zhou's family refused to cooperate. On July 13th, 2009, Mr. Zhou's family demanded his release from prison. Mr. Zhou was emaciated, weighing only around 50 pounds.

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang, 32, formerly a promising engineer at the No. 3 Surveillance and Design Institute of the Ministry of Railroad in Tianjin City, was subjected to brutal torture and detention in three forced labour camps, including Tianjin City's Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp, Ji County's Yushan Forced Labour Camp, and Jianxin Forced Labour Camp.

Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp from February 2000 to September 2001

In early 2000, Mr. Zhou was sent to Tianjin City's Shuankou Forced Labour Camp where he was detained for 18 months.

In the Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp, there was an incident when prison guard Wei Wei secretly dragged Mr. Zhou to a closed room, shocked him with an electric baton and beat him, trying to force him to renounce Falun Gong. Mr. Zhou's face bled and was disfigured from the beating.

In the Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp, Mr. Zhou was brutally beaten countless times. He was once shocked with an electric baton and beaten brutally for over an hour, forced to stand still for more than 20 hours, and allowed to sleep only three hours a day for a month. The following officers in the First Ward of the Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp took part in torturing Mr. Zhou: Wei Wei, Wang Lifang, Lu Lin, and a guard surnamed Du in the First Section.

Yushan Forced Labour Camp from Fall of 2001 to August 2002

After Mr. Zhou completed his term in the Shuangkou Forced Labour Camp, the authorities extended his term for another year and transferred him to the Yushan Forced Labour Camp in Ji County in the autumn of 2001.

Mr. Zhou and other practitioners resolutely resisted performing forced labour duty. Prison guard Wei Wei incited inmates to use high voltage electric batons to shock and burn Mr. Zhou's sensitive areas, including his mouth and the back of his head. The electric baton even broke down from repeated use, and caused Mr. Zhou to pass out from the prolonged shocking. Wei Wei claimed that another guard, Li Zhan, said that if an inmate died from the beating, it would be said that the inmate committed suicide and the inmate would be buried on the mountain behind the prison.

After being tortured very brutally, Mr. Zhou announced that he would hold a hunger strike. He was consequently force-fed with liquids daily. Mr. Zhou said, "I will not commit suicide. I'm holding a hunger strike to protest against the unbearable torture."

Mr. Zhou was detained in Yushan Forced Labour Camp for one year, but after he completed his extended one-year term, he was transferred to the Jianxin Forced Labour Camp in Tianjin City in August 2002. He was subsequently released unconditionally because he became dangerously emaciated and weak.

Arrested and Detained in Daying Police Station of Hexi District in May 2003

On May 31st, 2003, Mr. Zhou was arrested and taken to Daying Police Station in Hexi District, Tianjin City and sentenced to nine years. On the morning of June 1st, the police put him in a cage, strapped him to a chair, stripped him naked, poured cold water over his entire body, and turned the air conditioner to the lowest temperature setting. The police tortured him until June 3rd, and during those 48 hours, he was cold and wet and was not allowed to eat or drink. He was cursed at and beaten constantly. The police also used a stick to poke his nose, ears, and eyes. Mr. Zhou soiled himself because he was not allowed to use a toilet.

Mr. Zhou was detained in the Hexi District Detention Centre for fourteen months.

In Tianjin City's Gangbei Prison from August 2004

Mr. Zhou was transferred to the Gangbei Prison in Tianjin City on August 9, 2004.

Mr. Zhou was scorned and beaten numerous times for resisting the violent brainwashing imposed by prison guards. On December 23rd, 2005, Mr. Zhou tried to stop prison guards Zhang Shilin and Qi Shuhai from broadcasting programmes that defame Falun Gong, but he was carried away from the work area, beaten, berated, and detained in solitary confinement. Afterward, he was denied visitation from his family.

From December 23rd, 2005 to March 2nd, 2006, Mr. Zhou was shackled and cuffed and lay on the concrete floor for nearly four months during the cold winter months, during which time Mr. Zhou announced that he would hold a hunger strike. The prison guards lied to his family, and at the same time quickly transferred Mr. Zhou to Tianjin's City Liyuantou Prison.

In late June 2008, the Gangbei Prison transferred Mr. Zhou and other practitioners to the Ninth Ward, known as the "Fortified Target Attack Team," to receive even more brutal torture, to which Mr. Zhou resolutely resisted. Mr. Zhou has since held a hunger strike. The Gangbei Prison put him in solitary confinement and subjected him to the painful forced-feeding twice daily. Mr. Zhou became very weak and emaciated and could no longer walk. He lost control of his bladder and bowels. His family's repeated requests to visit him have all been rejected.

In April-May of 2009, he was rushed to the Tianjin Women's Prison Xinsheng Hospital to receive emergency treatment. However, on June 2nd, he was sent back to the prison where he was monitored by a prison doctor surnamed Meng. Mr. Zhou's family was told that he was being force-fed five times a day and was in critical condition.

Gangbei Prison: 86-22-62071156, 86-22-62071158
Zhang Shilin, warden of Fifth Ward: Zhang Shilin (police badge number: 1208217)
Warden of First Section, Lu Zhiguo: (police badge number: 1208140)
Warden of Second Section, Song Xuesen: (police badge number: 1208219)
Ninth Ward (Fortified Target Attack Team): 86-22-62071215
Warden, Yang Zhongshui (police badge number: 1208055): 86-13332087001 (Mobile)

Earlier reports: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/8/20/99986.html, and http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/6/16/108340.html

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/7/12/204420.html